Secluded
by freak 0n a leash
Summary: Sonic, Tails, Shadow, Knuckles and Rouge are trapped on an island in the middle of nowere with no way off. will they survive the ordeal, and how will they grow closer, if not farther apart? please reveiw knuxouge, some sonamy COMPLETE!
1. island of seclusion

Secluded

Chapter1: trapped

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned

Tails Miles Prower picked himself off the ground and dusted his mildly burnt body. He instinctively lowered himself down to the pebble-covered ground and absorbed his surroundings. An island; not were they had intended to go. He removed his gloves to allow his hands some air. He was sure he had broken his index finger in the accident and left his right glove on the damaged appendage. The smoldering wreckage had left a decently large scar on the vast tropical island. He was met with a blast of heat as he stepped away from the remains of the X-tornado, dazed and confused.

"Hey tails, wait a minute!" came a voice from behind him.

Sonic the hedgehog jogged over to his confused and disoriented friend, wheezing in an unhealthy fashion.

"We can't just wander off, now come on and help me tend to Shadow's wound."

"I'm sorry Sonic, I must've hit my head on the dashboard upon impact…where's Knuckles?"

Sonic looked around, observing a brilliant crimson bird that flashed upwards into the sky, soon to be followed by a flock of similar avians.

"I think he went to look for some sort of herbal remedy to stop the bleeding; he's good with that stuff."

"I see, where are Shadow and Rouge?" asked the small fox, caressing his injured hand.

"They're at the wreckage. Where are we anyway?"

"An island. Or at least, I think it's an island. That's a coral reef out there and dense jungle brush over there. I doubt there's anyone on this island."

"So, are you saying we're stuck on an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere until you can fix the tornado?"

"Initially yes, but that's assuming I can fix it, especially because we plowed into very rugged terrain."

With a distraught face, Sonic casually made his way over to the beach and near the incoming tide. Back and forth, back and forth it went. How dull. He tried to be uninterested and not panicked, even though he was, but he would never let Tails know that, even more Shadow and Knuckles, the two he shared deep enmity with. He did his best to hide the pale contours on his face and wiped away the beads of sweat rushing down his brow.

He then heard a Rustling in the bushes and quickly turned to face the undergrowth, expecting some horrid monstrosity to pop out and viciously assault the troupe. But the only thing that popped out was Knuckles with herbs and fruits clenched in both hands, sweat slithering its way down his sculpted torso. He disentangled himself cautiously and slumped towards the wreckage, climbing over a fallen mahogany and by a lagoon near which the tornado had crashed.

"There you are Knux, listen I-"

That was all Sonic got out before the echidna had passed him without so much as a glance. He was no doubt more irritated and solemn than normal and quickly started to attend to Shadow.

As Sonic approached, he realized the severity of the ebon hedgehog's wound. His left calf had been ripped open, most likely by some inconveniently placed shrapnel. His tendons, bone, meat, wires and mechanical parts were seeping out the hybrid hedgehog and becoming a part of the sandy beach.

"Took you long enough" he said through clenched teeth, obviously just as irritated as his savior.

Knuckles ignored the comment and began to rub the healing leaves on his leg. Sonic took notice that Rouge the Bat, the last member of their current group was eyeing the echidna, obviously pleased with his impressive figure, as she was blushing deeply. Sonic now took the time to take in his surroundings. The shore was fledged with fallen palm trees. Some appeared to be windswept although, there was not a hint of a refreshing breeze, which did not help him cope with the blazing inferno people called "Sunlight". The ground beneath him was coarse, covered with scattered pebble and rotting tree longs, and also the occasional shell. Not his idea of home.

"Shadow what are you doing?" came the voice of the already shaken little fox, Tails.

Shadow was limping about the wreckage; searching for something (no doubt this was bad for his crippled leg).

"I'm looking for my chaos emerald, so we can get of the hell." He mumbled in a tone audible enough so that Sonic could just make out the words.

"You didn't bring it."

"Huh?"

"You didn't bring it, you left it at my house, remember?" repeated Rouge.

Shadows face contorted into a ghastly expression and he started to kick a bent piece of metal.

"Argh! Fuck! Shit! And other such explicative's!" he yelled to no one in particular.

Knuckles appeared a little dazed from his hike and was faintly interested in what Shadow had goofed up about. He seemed to have predicted that they would have to live like tribesmen and live in bamboo houses and grass skirts.

Shadow calmed down after a good minute of swearing and started at the terrace ridden jungle.

"So we're trapped."

"You could say that."

"Crap" said Knuckles, hurling a stone into the blue ocean. It impacted the water and sun to the bottom with a loud and obnoxious "Ploomp". He then gazed up at the sun and wiped the sweat from his brow, glaring at it. The heat was too much for the furry echidna, and he began to strip down, removing his gloves, shoes, socks, and T-shirt he had been wearing during the flight.

"Good idea Knuckles, we best strip down to the bear minimal, unless you want to die of heatstroke" said Tails, removing his shoes.

"Not a good idea. I'm a lady, and I would not-"

Rouge was interrupted by Shadow's whisper-like voice.

"Just tear off parts of your jumpsuit; I really don't want to have to put up with your nonsense while I'm stranded on this island."

Rouge mumbled something about perverts and began to tear parts of her tight jumpsuit with a piece of metal that was twisted out of shape. She sheared off the section of the part of the jumpsuit that covered her stomach, and the part that covered her legs so that only her butt was covered. She then as well removed her gloves and boots, tossing them aside like a rag doll.

The others did the same, leaving on only their pants, as they had lost an amount of fur there over the years to make them awkward. Tails suggested that they find a sufficient supply of food, seeing as they would be stuck there for a good while and the lagoon would only provide them with water, not substance.

"I think we should separate into groups, in order to expand our search" suggested the fox.

Shadow narrowed his eyes in contemplation.

"Now hold on, I think that we should also look for shelter supplies, I don't want to be left out in the rain, should it ever come" said Shadow, wiping his forehead and starring up at the inferno above them.

"Groups are…?"

"Sonic and I should go with Shadow, as the two of us can help support him, on account of his broken leg. We'll be the ones looking for food. Knuckles and Rouge, you two look for shelter supplies."

"Why do I have to go with-?"

Knuckles was interrupted by Shadow.

"Oh don't start."

Much later, the two groups had separated from each other, instructed by Tails to issue a call, should they not return.

Knuckles and Rouge trudged together through the dense undergrowth and the thick tree trunks, most likely filled with unspeakable horrors that neither of them dared to consider. Despite the shade provided by the jungle canopy, the two continued to sweat profusely from every sweat duct on their bodies. As they walked along side each other, Knuckles couldn't help but eye the sweating body of his bat counterpart. Sweat trickled from her neck and down in-between her partially exposed breasts and down to her exposed stomach. Rouge was as well eyeing the sculpted echidnas' sweaty body, occasionally meeting the gaze of his eyes with hers.

Knuckles passed the time by mentally swearing to himself, refusing to believe that over the time he had knew the bat, he had started to develop feelings for her. Rouge however, had long ago accepted that she liked Knuckles, and was having a mental conversation with herself about how she would gain his trust and his love. Of course, the two were still very concerned about their survival and how they would be rescued from this hell on earth.

Knuckles eyes eventually met the tempting view of a pile of large sticks, so much that the may be large tree sapling continently placed in a pile, as if they had been made to be taken a long distance.

"Hey Rouge, we can use these" exclaimed Knuckles, motioning towards the pile of jungle brush.

"Are you sure? We could only make one shelter then, a very small, one at that. Are you that stupid Knucklehead?"  
"Look here batgirl, I don't like this, I don't want to be here, and I don't want to be with you. But I would like a shelter, so help me carry these; we're going to make a few trips."

"Why don't you carry them, you muscle-bound idiot" she recoiled in a slightly hurt tone.

"What is with you and your attitude?! Normally I have trouble tolerating you, but now-"

He picked up a little less than half of the pile and thrust it at Rouge.

"You insensitive jerk!"

"Just take your portion and head back to the beach, I'll be able to carry a little more" he grunted, storming off in another direction.

When he was out of sight, Rouge angrily thrust the branches on the ground and slumped against a large beach tree, ears flopped limply to the side of her head.

"Damn it."

Authors note: my third story. This one is based of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.

I beg you, nay, beseech you to review!

Please….

f0al


	2. home of the ancients

Secluded

2

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned

They were in the beginning of the thick, dense forest, plunking with weary heels on what they made out to be a track; trotting through the underbrush, enduring the enmity of the sun upon their exposed furry bodies. The path was rugged, covered with coarse grass, torn up every which way by the upheavals of large and small trees alike.

"Where would we find fruit, if there is any?" asked Sonic, eyeing the tops of the tropical trees in a desperate search for food, as he had not eaten for a long while and was becoming fairly hungry.

"In trees."

"I don't have time for your wise ass answers Shadow-"

"C'mon guys, this is no time for arguing with each other, we're trapped on a tropical island in the middle of an ocean which I cannot identify" said Tails.

"Gee, ya think?"

"Shadow!"  
"Guys, quit it!"

Shadow looked backwards, gazing at the ocean. The tide was coming in and there was only a narrow strip of beach between the water and the palm terrace. The group had chosen a firm strip of jungle with little rocks and mounds so they would not have to watch their feet, and instead watch the tops of trees. The search was, however, fruitless (hah, that's like a pun or something…) and they were becoming quite weary from the heat ridden hike. Shadow didn't help their exhaustment, as he took the time making rue comments about every other thing they said, causing both Tails and Sonic great irritation. This went on for a while until Tails spotted a patch of bananas growing from atop a tall tree that hung over them, shielding their eyes from the blazing sun.

"Sonic look!" yelled Tails in excitement.

"Hey, bananas; good eye Tails."

"Fantastic" said an uninterested Shadow in a sarcastic tone.

Tails passed the lame body of Shadow over to Sonic, who supported him my slinging his arm across his shoulders. Tails started to spin his Tails and propelled himself skyward, sending dust in every which direction. He reached the top of the tree and plucked the fruits from amongst the tree leaves, envying the lack of taste in his mouth as he licked his dry lips.

There were about twelve bananas in the bunch, two for each of them. Tails doubted that they would last long on the bunch and decided to head back to the scar to meet up with Knuckles and Rouge, had they returned.

Rouge angrily thrust the threshold of branches down onto the sandy strip of land between the ocean and the forest of creepers. She hastily pulled up a rotting log to rest on, although she was more flustered than tired at the moment.

"Stupid echidna…" she mumbled to herself.

Coincidently, a few minuets later, everyone had returned from their scavenging, Tails, Sonic, and Shadow with a few bunches of bananas, and Knuckles with a large heap of logs which he carried over his shoulder, his arm supporting the front of the supplies. As he dropped the logs to the ground, Rouge made out that the shaggy bark had scratched his shoulder and forearms a fair deal.

Tails began to speak.

"We need to decide about being rescued."

There was a buzz amongst the anthropomorphs. Each of them started to say something different at once, making it hard to hear Tails trying to dictate orders.

"Shut up!" yelled an irritated Tails.

"We need someone to give orders, like a temporary leader" suggested Shadow absently.

"I out to be the leader, I usually am" Said Sonic with one sided arrogance.

"No one ever voted you the leader; we just assume you know what you're doing."

"I always do."

"Define "always"."

"Quiet!" demanded Tails, becoming more and more irritated with the group.

"Knuckles had a point. We never voted, so we should now" added Rouge.

Another buzz rippled throughout the group. The idea of voting seemed to entice them and get their minds off the fact that they could very well die in a matter of weeks.

"Fine then, who votes for me?" asked Knuckles angrily, not expecting anyone to say they did. Rouge considered raising her hand, but then remembered how angry he had made her earlier and that no one was supposed to know or even suspect that she had a crush on the echidna.

Knuckles let out a low growl at the lack of hands raised.

Sonic spoke.

"How about me then?" he proclaimed, standing up and assuming a gallant position.

Only tails raised his hand.

"Hey c'mon guys…Knuckles?" he whined, disappointed that his friend had refused to vote for him.

"How about Tails?" suggested Knuckles, shivering at the idea of Shadow being their leader and refusing to vote for Rouge.

Everyone seemed to come to agreement to Tails being the leader, even Sonic (with some prodding).

"Okay guys, I need some time to think things out, I can't decide what to do strait off. I know it's an island for sure, but I'm not sure if it is one we will be rescued off of strait away. I suggest that we separate into Teams; one team will explore the island and see if it is inhabited, and the other will stay here and construct these shelters" said Tails.

"What are the teams?" questioned Shadow, becoming more interested with the situation, as if he had just realized that he was trapped on an island with an amount of people he didn't particularly like.

"How bout' you and me go on patrol Shadow?" said Sonic with a smirk on his face, irking the hedgehog.

"Hey, it's Tails decision" argued Knuckles.

"Look, I'm all for democracy. If you have an ideas speak it. And besides, I like Sonics idea. He and Shadow will be able to investigate the island faster than any of us" said Tails.

"You're making me more miserable."

"Quit complaining Shadow and go do your little mission" prodded Rouge, happy she got to stay on the vibrant beach instead of that violent threshold crawling with whom knows what.

The two hedgehogs ran off, one eager to search the island, and one ready to engorge himself with seawater.

They ran briskly through the lush jungle, hoping not to miss anything or anyone on the way. A sort of glamour spread over them and the scenery and they were both conscious of it, but didn't find it all too amazing.

Now towards the end of the afternoon, the sun had begun to set and the mirages began to settle a little. They found the end of the island, distinct and normal, not made too look awkward or out of shape. As they trudged on, they came to a granite cliff which dropped off into a dense fog.

"We can't continue here, because there's no way to go," said Shadow "only a deep trench, and the rocks get worse."

Sonic walked briskly towards the jagged cliff behind them and the ledge. His eyes followed the outline of the crags and stones covering the large cliff. He couldn't see what was on the other side, but assumed that it was from where they came.

He noticed some of the stones had clean cuts made into them by some unknown force, but didn't take the time to ponder it. Darkness began to set, and there was just enough of the sunlight that they had learned to hate to guide them the way back to the scar.

"Argh!" what the-? Cursed winged spawn of Satan!" yelled Shadow, swatting at a large mosquito that was buzzing around his head.

"C'mon Shadow, we better head back, before it becomes to dark to see."

Shadow had already taken off.

Back at the scar, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge had just finished constructing one large shelter, big enough to fit them all.

"This is it?" said a disappointed Rouge, placing her hands on her hips with an annoyed expression on her face. She was not used to this kind of living, as she was not used to sleeping without luxury or sharing a bed with another person.

"Well sorry if this isn't your normal routine bat girl, but you'll have to deal with it until we're rescued" growled Knuckles, knowing he wouldn't be able to stand much more of Rouge's attitude much longer.

"Don't worry guys, there's almost no unmapped islands on the world now, and someone's sue to notice that we're missing. Once we're rescued we'll be able to go back to civilization" said Tails in an attempt to comfort everyone.

"At least you will" said Knuckles, folding his arms and turning the other way.

Rouge folded her hears behind her head in concern for the echidna. She had forgotten that he lived just about every day in a manor similar to this, and could not help but feel for him.

Not much later, Sonic and Shadow returned from their mission, covered with a decent amount of mosquito bites.

"I fucking hate these things!" yelled Shadow in a blind fury, jumping around and scratching every part of his body that had been bitten by the evil little creatures.

"I'm gonna get malaria for sure…" said Sonic, running his back up against a palm tree.

"So is there anyone on the island?"  
"Nah, not that we saw. There was one deep trench that we were unable to explore, but there's probably only a bunch of trees and insects down there."

"Argh!" yelled Shadow, becoming more and more frustrated with the mosquitoes.

"Well, maybe someone will come for us by tomorrow, but before that, we should get some sleep and replenish our strength" suggested Tails.

Everyone huddled up inside the shelter, which was made of the tree branches that Knuckles collected, and covered with large palm leaves.

When everyone had long since drifted off to sleep, Rouge awoke, and exited the shelter. She then reentered near the end of the shelter, were Knuckles was sleeping, and huddled up against him, embracing him in a comforting hug, hoping to herself that the moment could last forever.

Authors note: I hope this one gets as much feedback as the first chap. (the reviews inspired me to write more, thanks guys). I've had a lot of homework lately and I took a lot of time working outside (I just finished an ash bow, hurray for me) so I haven't had to much time to devote to my fics.

Review please!


	3. the fire awakens

Secluded

3

Disclaimer: I own none of the mentioned characters.

The rays of the morning sun washed over the scar inhabited by the group secluded from civilization. The rays' heat was intensified on contact with the ebon black body of the only awake member of the troupe. He sat, like a Native American, near a circle of semi-large stones he had collected and assembled in that order early morning. He hardly expected a fire to be lit in it anytime soon, as he desperately hoped that they would be rescued by nightfall, so there would be no need for a pit to house a fire. He had constructed it mostly out of boredom, as he was the first to awake and meet the blazing rays of the hated sun.

"At least there are no more mosquitoes" he thought aloud to no one in particular, viscously scratching at the afflicted areas on his body.

Shadow laid down on his back, crossing his legs and putting his arms behind his head like a boy trying to avoid work. His eyes darted around the vicinity, eventually landing on the embracing figures of Knuckles and Rouge. It seemed to him that Rouge moved over there in the middle of the night, and Knuckles had shifted to the position.

"'Bout time…" he muttered to himself, twiddling a stick in between his fingers.

His gaze turned back to the pair and be began to examine Rouge's vibrant simile of joy. He hadn't seen her smile for real in weeks. He couldn't help but feel joy for his friend, but then began to dread the moment when Knuckles or someone else awoke to find them tike that, and create a commotion or argument. To avoid this, Shadow walked up towards the slumbering body of his bat friend, and nudged her shoulder with his foot, violently shaking her in a rude manor.

Rouge grumbled some swears and bolted upright to face the glowing red eyes of Shadow. She held back a scream of surprise and stumbled outside the tent until her heel nicked the cornerstone of Shadow's fire pit.

"-the hell shadow?!" exclaimed a startled Rouge.

Shadow only grinned and pointed to the spot were Rouge had been soundly sleeping until her rude awakening brought to her by her friend. There was an indent in the ground in the shape of Rouge's curled up body. Knuckles arm was slumped over the spot were Rouge had once been lying, as he had unknowingly been hugging her back in an affectionate manor.

Rouges eyes met those of Shadow, a blush on her face only intensified with the heat of the blazing sun and her sheer embarrassment. She pressed her dry lips together, trying to think of a comeback or some sort of an explanation s to why she had been sleeping next to Knuckles, whom she claimed to hate.

None came to mind.

"If you mention this to anyone, especially Knuckles-"

"Don't worry Rouge; it'll be our little secret. But I suggest you hurry up and tell him before something happens…" mumbled Shadow, as he trudged off into the undergrowth and creepers of the vibrant forest. Rouge began to follow him, as soon as the two were out of sight, Knuckles awoke.

He seemed to have been aroused by an unusually feeling of lust. He had had a dream, a dream that made him feel awful awkward in a way he hadn't experienced before. The dream was about a certain bat, and an adult situation which made him experience a unique feeling. It was like it was something he felt like he needed to have liked, but somehow found it disgusting. While disgusting, it pleasured him in a bizarre way that he felt like he enjoyed. It made his heart skip beats and made him want more, but he was at the same time frightened by it.

While pondering the strange sensation, he wandered off in the same direction Shadow and Rouge had gone not too long ago. As he reached the tree line, Tails awoke, looking like he had forgotten he was stranded on an island with, at the moment, no way off. He noticed Knuckles, and met the gaze of his eyes.

"G'morning Knuckles" he mumbled wearily.

Knuckles grumbled some inaudible phrase and continued to saunter off down his originally intended path.

Rays of light seeped their way through the forest canopy and onto knuckles sculpted form, his head bowed down to the creeper-ridden ground. After clambering his way through an amount of tall, shaft like undergrowth, he began to approach a clearing.

This clearing, however, was occupied by Rouge, who was sitting on a block of granite, twiddling a native flower in her dainty hands.

He glowered at her, remembering his dream as a great deal of fervor washed over him. He continued to watch her until Shadow revealed his black body as he approached Rouge. He watched them talk for a while, maintaining a static position. He wasn't sure what they were saying or why he was to an extent "stalking" them, but continued to do so anyway.

Then, for some reason, Rouge stood up and hugged Shadow, who uninterestingly returned the hug for a brief moment, and began to dash back to the campsite.

His heart skipped a beat. A crestfallen look of dejection formed on his face; his loitering ceased as he turned to flee from the scene, horrified by what he had witnessed.

Rouge, however, noticed him.

"Knuckles?"

"Damn!" he thought to himself, maintaining his position, waiting for Rouge to yell at him for butting into, or what he assumed to be, her love life.

"Knuckles what are you doing here?" Rouge questioned, approaching his sweating body.

As Knuckles turned to face her, she realized what he must've seen

"N-no Knuckles, its not-"

"What do you mean? You hugged him, so what? I just happened to be walking by and noticed. It really doesn't matter…"

What a blatant lie. Rouge knew what he thought and tried to convince him otherwise. She had only hugged Shadow for comfort, not in an expression of love.

"Knuckles ,that was just a friendly hug! I didn't-, well, it wasn't an "I love you hug"."

"Why would you bother convince me?"

Rouge knew Knuckles had, in a sense, caught her. Excuses and explanations rushed through her head in a way that they were flashing by her eyes like grass would to a driver of a moving car.

"Well, I kind of…it's not that, you… I…" she stuttered, not being able to catch one of these excuses that had passed her mind's eye.

"What?"  
She didn't know why she did it. It just happened as if willed to be. In a demure fashion, Rouge planted a kiss of Knuckles dry lips. She slowly backed away, staring at his deep amethyst eyes which were clouded with confusion. His face turned a color to match his red fur and he opened his mouth to say something, but Rouge had already taken off into the forest.

Back at the campsite, spirits were not high, but frustration on the other hand, was.

Tails had constructed a crude bow drill from the materials at had. The string was a severed cord from the X-tornado, and the other components from local trees.

It's not that the drill didn't produce fire for them, but that Tails was having a difficult time operating it, as it was a difficult skill to master (I know, I've tried and I can't do it).

"Damn it" Tails muttered to himself, becoming more and more irritated with the lack of flames.

Sonic seemed rather shocked hearing his fox friend swear, as it was something he never heard him do.

"Were are Knuckles and Rouge?" asked Shadow, wondering were the to had gone, and as well becoming slowly irritated with Tails fire making performance.

This comment seemed to create a miniature tumult amongst the three, which was soon ceased when Tails cried out in ebullience.

"Guys! Guys! I think I got something!"

Indeed he had. Small flames stirred at the drills platform and began to leap and dance, performing an elegant ballet in the splendor of the fire pit.

Sonic spoke.

"Tails, take out the drill, Shadow, go get green leaves and dry wood, we'll get lots of smoke that way!" he ordered.

"Who put you in charge?"

"Just do it"

In seconds, Shadow returned with a batch of the requested items and thrust them beside Tails. Tails hastily grabbed the tinder and placed it around the leaping flames in a pyramid like shape, allowing it to catch alight and crate the needed smoke signal that had eluded them for a good hour. The separate noised of the fire formed a sort of drum roll that echoed throughout the sanctity of the campsite.

"Well there's your fire."

"Hey, you never answered my question, where are Knuckles and Rouge?"

"Huh?" uttered Tails, turning his head away from the splendid sight.

"Were Knuckles and Rouge?" Shadow repeated.

"KNUCKLES! ROUGE!" shouted Sonic, hands cupped over the sides of his mouth.

"What!?" shouted a deep and gruff voice.

Knuckles sinewy body emerged from the dense forest undergrowth. A sense of confusion was tactic about him, as he stumbled over to the bustling fire.

"You got a fire going?"

"Where's Rouge?" asked Shadow, rather concerned about his friend.

A deep blush returned to the echidna face, and he began to mutter some inarticulate words.

"Thanks for being clear about it" jeered Shadow, malevolence rising.

"I don't know I haven't seen her all day" lied Knuckles.

Shadow only stared at Knuckles, already sensing the arising vicissitudes in the group.

Elsewhere in the jungle, was the bat that Shadow and the rest had been pondering about.

She was bent double. Her nose was only a few inches from the dirty ground. Tree trunks, plant stems, and creepers that had earlier festooned her were lost in the green dusk thirty feet above the bat. Her body was laid in the undergrowth. Her bare stomach was pressed up against the hearth and her legs and arms crossed over each other. Her arms grossed over her chest to support her head.

She was steaming with sweat and streaked with brown earth, allowing the sweat to cascade off her brow, crating what must be to insects around her a rainstorm.

"Why did I do that?" she asked herself, twiddling a grass like plant in between her fingers.

She had asked herself this so many times since kissing Knuckles and receiving the same answer each time.

"I don't know."

She then heard a clamor and her ears perked up. The hushed crackling of fire was about, as was the smell of smoke as it drifted through the air and into her nostrils.

'A fire?' she thought.

She raised her partially nude body from the earth, dusted herself off, and ran towards the fire.

Authors note: Well, there's chapter three. Review, and I will sleep soundly.


	4. conflict

Secluded

4

Disclaimer: I own none of the mentioned characters, they belong to Sega

"You got a fire going all right."

Smoke arose in every available space among the undergrowth and trees. The four of them watched the inferno, unable to think clearly or even remember how they had managed it. A flash of searing heat appeared amongst the roots and the smoke began to thicken. Small flames began to stir at the trunks of trees behind the charred fire pit and climbed the wooden giants, singing the leaves. The fires resembled bright squirrels and the cinders small firebirds. Acres of black and yellowish smoke rolled towards the sea and across the island, covering the boys in soot. The heat of flame, which resembled an uncontrollable beast and the smoke clogging their lungs, caused them to flee the area.

Tails realized the silence and stillness that had washed over Shadow, Sonic, and Knuckles as they took in the horrible, splendid sight.

The minute drum roll that the small campfire had made was now like a booming air horn. Tails turned away from hell to see the wheezing body of Rouge, a look of absolute shock painted on her face.

"W-what is this?!" she shouted, hysterical

"Tails let the fire go out of control!" accused Shadow.

"You let the fire go out of control; you were in charge of watching it while I gathered tinder!" Tails recriminated.

"Guys, guys-"

"Hey, were have you been?" asked Knuckles, eyeing Rouges dirty body.

"I was in the woods before I met up with you-"

"Hey, you said you didn't know were Rouge was!"

"Looks like you're both at fault…"

"QUIET!" shouted Sonic, in a much harsher tone than normal. That shut everyone up.

"Everyone was talking about the need for a smoke signal, and then we all scramble for firewood like a bunch of savages. How can we expect to be rescued if we don't put first things first and act orderly and proper?!" shouted Sonic.

He paused from his tirade, showing another side of the blue hedgehog that was not commonly demonstrated to the rest of the group. He gazed at the turmoil and destruction the fire was causing and the creation of dead wood, gasping in air.

"Now we've gone and created a freaking bonfire that isn't any use. We'll burn the whole island down, how stupid would we look, out here on a charred mountain tip in nothing but rags? Cooked fruit, yeah, I don't want to experience that. We make Tails our leader, he suggests something, and we get all disorganized and now-"

He ceased yelling and paused in the tumult, taking a seat on a dry log, rubbing his sweaty forehead.

Tails looked towards Knuckles and Rouge and told them to sprinkle dirt onto the fire using their digging abilities.

Shadow licked his dry lips, looking from one person to another and then at himself. How could Tails even suggested that it was his fault? He eyed his crippled leg and remembered his immobility. Me, cause a fire unintentionally? Ridiculous.

Knuckles was eying the crippled hedgehog while spraying dirt onto the flames in order to suffocate and douse them. He then looked at Rouge, pressing his dry lips together. Her curvy body, covered in sweat and dirt while working vigorously did nothing but cause that pleasurable sensation of want and disgust to cascade throughout his persperating body. He then remembered what he saw earlier, her with shadow. Even if she denied that hug to be an affectionate one, he still could not shake the feeling that it wasn't, even thought it was.

'Shadow…' he thought to himself, glowering at him.

He knew that Shadow was hurt at the moment, and as a result, could not fight back. It was the perfect opportunity, the right time-

'To hurt him' he thought.

Hurt him? Because Rouge hugged him? They were friends, just close friends, no need to get aggressive.

He continued to repeat the same reasons of whether to hurt Shadow, not hurt Shadow, or just leave it. Not much later, he and Rouge had finished shoveling dirt onto the fire and eventually, doused it. Immediately after, Tails called a meeting.

"We have a problem" he began, dusting himself off, as he and the others had become noticeably dirtier. The fire had taken up a good deal of time out of the day, and the sun had risen to its peak as it would be at mid day.

'A problem? Did you call a meeting to address that? If you think we didn't notice the wildfire just now-"

"Enough Shadow!"

"I'm calling this meeting to address some ground rules. We've been disorganized. Shadow, you've been barely any help, Sonic, you've been fooling around, Knuckles, all you did was gather shelter supplies and then did nothing, and Rouge, all you've done is wander around aimlessly. As for myself, I have to admit I haven't been the greatest leader…"

"No, you just suck" snorted Shadow.

Tails ignored this and continued.

"So I want to split into two groups, one the shelter and fire signal maintainers, and the other food gatherers, or hunters."

"I want some meat" grumbled Knuckles, rubbing his stomach.

"You're lucky that you're still alive Knucklehead, I bet it was you who started that fire" said Rouge, giving him a look of discontent.

'I new it' Knuckles thought to himself. 'She dependently doesn't like me; all she cares about is that pompous fool Shadow…'

Knuckles grabbed his forehead and turned away from the group, but this motion of distress went unnoticed.

"Me, Rouge, and Sonic will be the fire group, and Knuckles and Shadow will be the hunters" Tails continued, a sense of authority about his voice.

"Why am I with him?" Shadow asked grudgingly, pointing an accusing finger at Knuckles.

"Got a problem?" asked Knuckles, deep enmity in his voice directed at Shadow.

The hiatus between the two was intensifying in a manor of savagery, even if it had not yet reached them.

"Guys, guys!"

A miniature tumult aroused amongst the group, rage increasing.

"GUYS! If we want to be rescued, nay, even survive, then we have to get along and work like a team! To you hear me? T-E-AM! There's no "I" in team!" shouted Tails.

"But there is a "me"…"

"I'm gonna feed you to the seagulls man."

Much later, the sun had sank to the point were it was level with the sea, reflecting its bright rays of light off the water, giving the sky a purplish look to it. Sonic and Tails had gone off with Rouge to collect more supplies, but she trailed behind, intent on being alone. Shadow and Knuckles had gone out to look for food, maybe even catch and kill a boar of some sort. When Sonic and Tails had trotted down the beach to look back at the abundant forest and the mountain near the unexplored cliff, Rouge followed them for a few yards and then stopped, waiting for them to walk away without noticing her absence.

She stood on the sandy shoreline, flowing down at a crumbled shell that was washed up on the beach. She turned and headed into the forest with an air of purpose. She walked about the scar and approached a great rock, staring at it with the intention to rest on it, but instead laid on the firm soil. She wasn't trying to be shirking, but more or less think over things.

She picked up a rock and hurled it a few yards, watching it until it smacked into a large tree and fell to the ground.

"Knuckles…" she thought aloud, tilting her head to one side.

The very thought of him made her somewhat uncomfortable. The thought of him and Shadow fighting was an even more oppressive thought to bear. She was confused and disorientated. She knew she loved Knuckles, that was for sure, and she was just very good friends with Shadow.

That clearly wasn't what Knuckles thought.

She wanted a way to convince Knuckles that she had no romantic interest in Shadow without having to say she loved Knuckles. She really didn't want him thinking the opposite, never wanting the endless circle of flirting and teasing to end, but only shift. But she had no ability to summon up the needed courage to tell him, fearing what the truth might be.

Her heart raced at the thought of her walking up to Knuckles and saying "I love you". No way in hell could she do it.

As she leaned over to hurl another stone, she heard a defining crash from near were she had been resting. Bolting upright, she ran in the direction of the sound, putting her fears behind her for the moment.

"Why do I always end up running towards horrible sounds?" she said as she dashed closer to whatever made the noise.

Elsewhere in the jungle, Knuckles and Shadow were running towards the sound, intent on finding out what had caused it, and to get a break from having to work together.

"It came from the unexplored trench" said Shadow, speeding ahead of Knuckles.

"Hey, slow down!"  
"You're the one lollygagging."

At what looked like a crossroad in the dirt, Shadow and Knuckles met up with Tails and Sonic, each one running in the same direction, no doubt to inspect the crash.

"You heard it to?"

"No doubt."

"Hey, where's Rouge?" asked Knuckles, noticing that she was missing from Sonic's troupe.

"Damn it, we lost her!" yelled Sonic, dodging a low hanging branch.

As if on cue, Rouge cam from atop the canopy and sailed overhead the gang, looking rather annoyed.

"There you are! Where the heck have you been?" asked Sonic, turning his head to face the bat.

"I had to gather my thoughts" she replied, quickly gazing at Knuckles but then turning her head back towards the path.

"Hey, is that-"

A smiling pink hedgehog was running towards the group, waving her arm in the air, smiling vibrantly.

"Oh no."

Authors note: enter Amy, you'll se how she got there next chap. Also, some of the foreshadowing will be revealed, ooohhhh. Anywhosinwhatsit (my word for "anyway") make sure to review, I appreciate those.


	5. hushabye

Secluded

5

Disclaimer: I own none of the mentioned characters

"Hey, is that-"

A smiling pink hedgehog was running towards the group, waving her arm in the air, smiling vibrantly.

"Oh no."

"Sonic!" she yelled as she rushed towards the startled hedgehog and tackled him to the ground in an affectionate embrace.

"Gah! Amy! How the Hell did you get here?" he asked, attempting to pry the over exited hedgehog off him, spraying dust in every which direction.

"The Chaotix brought me!"

"Huh?" he exclaimed, rising to his feet and dusting himself off.

Behind Amy, the three Chaotix members approached them, each smiling (Espio was more, sneering). Someone had come to rescue them. The evening sun washing over their bodies created a sort of brilliance that only intensified the salvation the Chaotix had granted them.

"How you guys doin'?" asked vector in his grizzly tone, smiling a toothy grin.

"How did you find us?!" asked Knuckles, running up to him with a smile on his unshaven and dirtied mug, overjoyed that they would get to leave the island.

"We looked for you!" yelled an exited Charmy, buzzing around the vicinity like a madman.

"What?" asked Shadow, folding his arms in disbelief.

"It wasn't as simple as that", began Espio, "Amy came to us saying that you and the others should have been back from your little trip a day ago and that she was worried. Being detectives, we volunteered to find you guys. We boarded our helicopter and flew around your intended course for e few days, until we noticed the wreckage of the X-tornado on this island."

"My GOD Amy thank you!" said Sonic as he brought her into a hug, expressing his great appreciation of Amy's selfless act.

"So get us out of here already" demanded Shadow in a very rude tone, no doubt sore about being stuck on an island with a broken leg, as he had no intention of staying there any longer.

"No need to be pushy. The copter is over behind this cliff, we landed it near that really deep trench."

'Trench?' Shadow pondered to himself, remembering the unexplored trench he and Sonic had seen not to long ago.

"Follow us" Vector said motioning towards the other side of the rocky cliff.

Everyone eagerly followed, overjoyed that they would get to leave the island once and for all.

Rouge was no doubt happy about leaving the island that had caused her a great deal of emotional distress, but somehow, disappointed as well. The island had granted her something that she wanted to have for a long while: more time with Knuckles.

Being around him made her feel happy in a way that she could not describe to herself, or anyone else but Knuckles. She didn't know why she started to love him in the first place, nor why being stuck on the horrible island had brought her somewhat closer to him, but farther away from Shadow.

'Shadow…' she thought to herself, watching him limp his way to the helicopter, which she still could not see.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" came the voice of Vector, echoing throughout the valley.

"What, what's going-hey where's the-"

"The copter, it's-it's gone!" exclaimed Espio, a look of utter shock and confusion painted on his scaly face.

Rouge's heart skipped a beat. Two beats. Sweat cascaded from her brow.

'The copter's…gone?!' she thought, horrified.

Her legs faltered as she turned the corner, forcing her to the dusty ground.

There was no copter, nothing but some disheveled dirt around were it should have been. Sonic approached the area in an unusually elephantine way.

"G-gone… impossible…" he said to no one in particular.

Everyone stared at the absent cliff, realizing their only hope for liberation from the island had only just slipped thought their thinning fingers like small gains of sand for no reason at all. Now, the Chaotix and Amy Rose had joined their game of Russian roulette.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GONING ON! THIS MAKES NO FUCKING SENCE! I WANT OFF! I WANT TO-ARRRGH!" Knuckles violently screamed, smashing the boulder laden ledge beside them and then slumping to the ground in frustration. The profanity ridden tirade of Knuckles ran inside the heads of the others as they stood on the island, staring into the unexplored trench.

Later that evening, night began to fall and shroud the night sky in a thick black veil of darkness. Insects buzzed and bit the deprived group as they huddled around the disheveled fire pit. They were not cold, but not happy in the least. Malaria was only a microscopic prick away and the disappearance of the helicopter left the befuddled and confused.

"It doesn't make sense…" said Tails, prodding the ground with a stick, almost as if he expected this to solve the helicopter mystery.

"Give it up Tails. God just hates us" jeered Shadow, becoming annoyed with Tails new favorite phrase.

"Don't worry guys, someone will come to rescue us" added Sonic, trying to be optimistic and lighten the mood, with no avail.

There was a silence, the soft hum of the frogs chirping to each other and the buzzing of the mosquitoes were the only sounds to be heard.

Vector spoke.

"You guys got anything to eat around here?" he asked in a mellowed out tone, one very different from his normal, happy voice.

Shadow lazily tossed him a banana which he ate in a ravenous fashion.

Amy seemed to be unexplainably wary of her surroundings, as if she was expecting to be ambushed by some unseen horror that hid in the creepers of the lush vegetation that grew and somehow survived on the island. Sonic felt pressured to comfort her, but could not find the strength to do so.

Knuckles lay in a secluded part of the clearing, facing away from everyone else. Noticing this, Rouge crawled her way over to him in an elephantine fashion, dirtying her sweaty body even more. She had learned not to care about her appearance over the time that they had spent on the island (this was apparent, as her hair had taken on a slight brownish look to it).

"Knuckles?" she whispered to his motionless form in a rather concerned tone.

"What?" he replied in an almost harsh tone, as if it were Rouge's fault that the helicopter had vanished.

"Are you alright?"

"I guess…" he mumbled, lifting up a stone and hurling it out to sea.

"I…I just wanted to let you know that, well… I'm not having any more fun on this island than you are, but we might as well take this time to…" she stopped, thinking about how to say the next part of her little speech.

"- get to know each other better" she blurted, a crimson red appearing on her cheeks.

Knuckles stared at her in a complex manor, replaying what she had just said to him over and over in his head. Was this her way of saying: "I love you?" no, he didn't exactly understand that concept. Angel Island had robbed him of that.

"What…do you mean?"

"Well, I-"

She paused, looking around her, noticing everyone could most likely hear her. Her eyes fell mostly on Shadow, fearing his reaction the most.

"Actually, can I talk to you in… private?" she asked, quavering slightly.

Knuckles heart skipped a few beats. Things rushed through his mind, blurred thoughts, just like before.

He hated that feeling, making his hands sweaty and causing myopia to set in.

"Sure, why not?" He said, trying his best to keep his cool.

They stood and trudged into the dark forest of the island together, off to who knows were. As they left, Shadows eyes followed.

Deep in the jungle, Knuckles and Rouge stood at the entrance to the clearing were Rouge had done her thinking earlier in the day. She felt somehow, whole in this spot and away from the world. She felt that it was a good spot to confess her feelings.

"Knuckles, what do you…think about me?" she asked, balling her hands behind her back and walking around aimlessly.

"What do you mean?"

"What's your opinion of me?"

He paused, and then spoke.

"Well, you're confusing. When I try to think about you, my head kind of turns to mush."

Rouge giggled. She hadn't done that for a while.

"You irritate me and sometimes get me mad, but other times, I'm sort of, amused by you."

They were both blushing, the moonlight revealing it to each others eyes.

"What do you think about me?" asked Knuckles, feeling more comfortable with the situation.

"Well, for me to say what I think about you would confuse both you and me. It's complicated, and I have difficulty explaining it to myself. I guess the best way to disrobe it would be…"

She walked up to him, eyes at the brink that they were almost closed and pressed up against his firm structure. She then planted a deep and meaningful kiss amount his lips, pouring all of her soul and spirit into it, letting out all of her anxieties that had been bottled up inside her flow in and out of the one that had caused the distress. The moment lasted forever for the two, and Knuckles eagerly returned the favor, spilling all of his feelings for her into the kiss, letting it intensify enough to sooth his craving.

They gripped each others backs, pushing one against the other to an extent that they might break in half. The empty pit in their body's was filled with one another's love and completed them, as they continued to kiss, letting the night swallow them whole.

Authors note: sorry this took so log to get out and sorry it was so short. I hope I didn't rush the knuxrouge part or made the disappearance of the helicopter to confusing. Irt will be revealed later, don't you worry.

Please review; the chaps will come quicker the more reviews I get

Don't flame


	6. love and hunting

Secluded

6

Disclaimer: I own none of the mentioned characters. Makes me mad.

The blanket of night had shrouded the group in a foggy black. Moonlight was the only way to see, but all it revealed was the crippled X-tornado and the large insects that had adopted it as a home. The furry and some scaly forms of the group were visible, each one curled into a ball of warmth. The soil had formed what was almost a circular depression in the form of their figures so that it was like a bed.

In the midst of the darkness, two figures were making their way back to the campsite, their hormones raging impervious to rest. The moonlight provided just enough light to guide the newly formed pair back to the safety of the others. They sauntered back to their temporary home, hand in hand, one smiling vibrantly at the other.

Their hearts were free of turmoil. Rouge felt like Christmas had come early and Knuckles felt no different.

"So, what made you want to tell me?" he asked his now girlfriend Rouge.

"I'm not really sure. I guess that the helicopter vanishing made me believe that we would be on this island forever and I wanted to let you know, just in case we…"

She didn't feel comfortable finishing the sentence, but Knuckles understood what she meant.

"Why do you like me anyway?" he asked.

Rouge paused, thinking it over.

"I guess I'd have to be your sense of duty. No matter how many times I tried to take that emerald from you, you always continued to defend it. I even tried to seduce it off you, but you still wouldn't let go. No ones ever denied me like that."  
"Have you ever…had a boyfriend before?"

A smile of embarrassment appeared on the bat's face.

"No, no I haven't. I always found most men to be pigs, treating women as sex objects; but you're different. And I have to say, really handsome" she added, blushing.

The same color of red stained the echidna's face, but it was concealed by the night. They reached for each others hands again and gripped them tightly, as if they never wanted to let go. No doubt this whole experience on the island had brought them closer; close enough so that they would tell one another how they felt about the other. It was a kind of splendor so rare to see in the modern world and seemed to be like an act of fiction or a dream to the new pair. They silently prayed that they would not wake from the dream.

As they approached the camp, it was obvious that there were bodies missing. Shadow, Vector, and Espio were absent from their respective sleeping quarters. Knuckles and Rouge gazed around the area in hope of finding them, but without results.

Knuckles growled, then spoke.

"Where are they? Who would be so stupid as to wander off into the jungle in the middle of the night?"

Rouge chuckled to herself, laughing at Knuckles failure to notice the irony of what he had said.

As he said this, a loud rustling came from within the brush and undergrowth. The grasp of their paws snapped apart as they turned their faces to the source of the noise, only to be met with blood red eyes.

It took only a second for them to realize that they eyes belonged to shadow. In one had he clutched a flint nodule shaped into a knife with blood trickling from it. On his face he wore a smile of delirious abandonment.

Behind him came the figures of vector and Espio. On the back of the crocodile was a dead pig.

"Shadow?!" Rouge exclaimed.

"Rouge, look what we got!" he said, motioning towards the beast.

"Why are you up at this hour, hunting for pigs?!" yelled Knuckles.

"Why are you up at this hour?" asked Espio, but the retort went unheard.

Vector spoke.

"We couldn't sleep, and then Shadow started talking about meat. I couldn't help but agree, and Espio asked if there were any hunters. Shadow said Sonic and he were, but he would rather have us hunt with him than Sonic."

"So we did" added the chameleon.

"Couldn't it have waited 'till morning?" asked Rouge, becoming irritated with Shadow and his little tribe.

"Probably, but I wanted to hunt."

"What is up with you and your sick impulses Shadow? Why do you always have to be sneaking around at night? You've been the root of trouble this whole trip!" accused Knuckles.

"What are you talking about you worthless baboon? You think it was my fault that the ship crashed? Yu think it was my fault that we got stranded here? You think that is was my fault the copter disappeared? You think it's my fault that we're secluded?!" Shadow responded, his hatred towards Knuckles building larger and larger.

"I think it's your fault that we're arguing with one another!"

"MY fault?! You started this! And besides, you can't accuse me of "Sneaking around at night" if you're doing the same with Rouge! What were you two doing anyway?"

"We were-"

Knuckles stopped, not wanting to blurt out to everyone he'd been making out with Rouge, not without her say-so anyway.

"Heh-I thought as much" Shadow spat, motioning for his fellow hunters to carry the carcass of the pig over to the fire pit.

"Shadow, just leave the pig. Get some sleep now" commanded Rouge.

Shadow gave her a look she could not decipher. She almost felt…afraid of Shadow, in a way she had never been afraid before. She'd never actually feared Shadow, as she had complete trust in him to the extent that she would never leave his side. Now he was giving her death glares and becoming almost…savage.

Everyone returned to their sleeping quarters to sleep. Rouge on the other hand, scooted over to Knuckles and snuggled into his warm, strong chest, as if she was afraid of something and that Knuckles would protect her. Knuckles noticed this and wrapped his strong arms around her, never wanting to let go.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hello silly little girl. Aren't you just a silly, silly little girl?" said the pig.

Rouge woke from her sleep and stared at the fly-infested carcass of the pig Shadow had killed not to long ago.

"You look troubled. Are you not having fun?" it spoke again. Its voice sounded like that of a child who had their throat lined with mucus.

She stood and looked around; checking to make sure that the voice was coming from the pig and not anyone else.

"Are you talking to me?" she asked.

It did nothing, and then spoke.

"Are you not having fun? I want you to have fun. You're going to have fun on this island" it said, flies buzzing about its unmoving muzzle.

"No, I'm not" she replied. She didn't know why she replied to a dead pig, other than be frightened or ponder just how it was talking.

"Are you afraid of something? Perhaps the thing that made the helicopter disappear?"

"You know what did that?"

"I know a lot of things. I know everything about you. I know what made the helicopter disappear."

"What? What made it disappear?" she asked.

A sort of cackling came from the pig, as if it were laughing at her inferiority.

"It made the helicopter disappear."

"What did? What is 'it'?"

"It made the helicopter disappear."  
"What is it!?"

"IT made the helicopter disappear. It made the helicopter disappear." It said over and over. The more it said it, the larger its head grew. Bigger and bigger and bigger.

"Rouge!"

She woke abruptly, her body drenched with a cold sweat. Her lungs expanded and contracted, causing her chest to rise up and down. She was staring into the face of Knuckles, who was hunched over her with a concerned look on his face.

"You were having a nightmare. You were screaming something" he said, giving her a concerned look.

Just about everyone else was staring at her too. Her head was rested on Knuckles lap and her limbs were sprawled around her.

"I-I'm alright" she said, reassuring Knuckles and rising to an upright position.

She knew it was no dream. Another one of her times had come on and it was the most unpleasant of them all. She hadn't had an epileptic spasm like that for months.

Her eyes fell on the fly ridden pig and she remembered the attack, which caused her heart to skip a beat.

"Are you sure you're all right?" asked Knuckles again, noticing her reaction towards the dead animal.

"Just fine…" she reassured, and she walked over to the oasis.

"I'm going to take a bath. No one look."

She disappeared behind the brush.

"That was strange."

"Is Rouge epileptic?" Tails asked Shadow, who was eyeing the pig carcass.

"No, not that I know of." He said in a very uninterested tone.

"Dude, could you be anymore obsessed with that pig? You're best friend just spazzed out and you're concerned with a dead animal?" said Sonic in a slightly comical manor.

"Yeah, what's your problem Shadow?!" yelled Knuckles, his anger steadily rising.

Shadow stood and faced the echidna, rage in his eyes.

"You know, I've grown to really dislike you during this whole adventure. So you should mind your own business and get your face out of your ass."

"Get MY face out of MY ass?! I think you got that backwards buddy, cause you've been pushing me and pushing me and now, push is gonna shove!"

Knuckles quickly approached Shadow and grabbed both his arms, brought him towards him and kneed him in the ribs. (A/N never do this at home. I did it to one of my pals and broke two of his ribs.)

"Gackkk!" sputtered Shadow as he stumbled back into a tree.

Knuckles ran to attack him again, but was held back by Vector and Sonic.

"Lemmie go! I'll break his other leg!" he yelled furiously, saliva cascading from his open mouth the same way blood was coming from Shadow's.

"Let it go Knuckles!"

"Just drop it!"

"Knuckles calm down, there's no need to fight! Peach and order are the only things that-"

Before the fox could finish his sentence, Shadow lunged at Knuckles and struck him in the nose, causing blood to spill onto the ground. In less than a second, Espio and Amy were doing their best to restrain him.

"I'll kill you!"

"Fuck you!"

"Enough!" yelled Tails, silencing the clamor.

The two ceased their struggling against their captors and looked at Tails as if he was the one who started the fight.

"What are we?!" he began, "animals? Fighting each other for no reason?! We are civilized. We can't stoop to thins if we want to survive. Shadow, there's no reason for you to go maiming pigs in the middle of the night for no reason. And Knuckles, there's no excuse for attacking another member of our group!"

Knuckles and Shadow stared at each other, their anger cooling.

Tails breathed heavily, noticing the effect of his tirade.

"I'm calling an assembly."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Authors note: sorry that took so long to get out. I've been pretty busy lately and I'm sick right now. Please review, I promise I'll get the next one up quicker if you do.


	7. ADIDAS

Secluded

7

Disclaimer: I own none of the mentioned characters, yadda yadda yadda…

F0al

Rouge gracefully eased her smooth naked body into the steamy, opaque water of the oasis, letting it rinse and caress her skin. She sighed in a relaxed manor and tilted her head backwards so that it rested on the bank of the oasis. The oasis was in an enclosed area of the jungle. Trees with thick grapevines drooped from the canopy and formed almost a perfect circle around the shallow pool. The only way to see inside was from atop the trees, and even there it was difficult to make anything out.

She closed her eyes, thinking about what had happened on the island thus far. The plane crash, the need for food, Shadow slowly slipping into the evil nature of the subconscious mind, and Knuckles…

Her relationship with Knuckles was the only thing keeping her happy. That night they spent together, kissing in the moonlight, away from all human or animal contact made her go funny. It all felt so unreal. She still didn't know what it was about Knuckles that made her hormones rage the way they do around him and not around Shadow.

"Shadow…" she thought, remembering how he had been acting recently. Why was he acting almost…savage? Was it the need for survival? Was it a natural response a civilized being gets when the feel that they need salvation? She wasn't sure that any of the factors were exactly true or not, but was desperate to get the old, dark, and serious Shadow back; the one who cared about his friends and not the hunt for food. Not that food was a bad thing, but his unquenchable craving for it was just creepy.

Outside the oasis were Rouge was bathing, Tails began to speak.

"I'm calling an assembly."

Everyone stared at him, as they did not expect for him to deal with the crisis in the form of an assembly. Knuckles narrowed his eyes and snapped out of the grips of his comrades and trudged into the forest, infuriated.

"Knuckles stop!" yelled Sonic, getting ready to chase his friend down and drag him back if he had to.

"Forget it. This meeting doesn't concern him as much as it does-" he paused and his eyes fell on a black and red mass, staring back at him.

"-Shadow." He said.

Shadow narrowed his eyes and glared at Tails, malice seeping out of him.

…..

Knuckles stormed through the forest, following no indicated path with without a destination in mind. We wanted to get away from it all. Even on an island, the world seemed without conflict.

'That's why I'm so adamant about living on Angel Island. Secluded from everyone without having to worry about what the humans are doing to themselves. The only one who knows how to get to my island is Rouge…'

His eyes widened. He had forgotten about her and was filled with happiness remembering her beautiful face and the fact that she was his girlfriend now. He then changed his direction and headed towards the oasis, intent on seeing her.

He'd been on the island for a good 3 days now, and knew the area pretty well. The constant trudging on the forest ground had weaved paths for one to follow to get to where one wanted to go. He had never really seen the inside of the oasis, but knew were it was (for there was a particular tree that formed part of the lining of the pool with he would do his thinking on, much like Rouge's rock). He had also grown used to the mosquitoes in an odd fashion. He'd been bitten so many times that he was practically immune to their pain-numbing serum so he could feel their prick and stop them from sucking his blood.

Upon reaching the enclosure he paused at the vine-curtain, realizing that Rouge might be bathing, he paused and considered whether to go in or not. His heart skipped a beat when his perverted side pictured his naked girlfriend crouched over the pool, revealing all of her feminine features.

He cringed, forcing the thought to the back of his mind and approached the curtain, slowly pushing the vines aside.

His eyes instantly fell on Rouge, her head the only part of her body visible, eyes closed. As soon as he took a step, her head jerked towards him and her eyes shot open. Had it been anyone else, even Shadow, she would have objected and have asked for her privacy. But this was Knuckles and she felt more comfortable around him than anyone else.

'Um, I, uh, hope you don't mind…" he stuttered, covering his eyes and looking away.

Rouge grinned a seductive smile and arched over to look at him, rising out of the water so much as to just barley conceal her breasts.

"It's alright Knuckles; you can come in if you want to. You look like you need a bath anyway" she hummed.

Knuckles twitched and reddened as he felt himself go hard and began to inch his way over to the oasis.

(There is no lemon; I'm just reminding you guys…)

He began to remove his shoes and socks, which was much more of a burden than it should have been. The sweat and grime that had lined the inside of his footwear made them sticky and a pain to remove. After struggling with his sock, he tossed them onto the dry ground and inched his way into the water.

Steam erupted from the pool and a cleansing sensation filled his aching joints. He breathed out a heavy sight and began to remove his gloves. Rouge inched closer to him, eager to see what his hands looked like.

With an obnoxious SNAP his gloves flew off his hands and Rouge was the first to see what they looked like.

They were normal, well his digits were anyway; his knuckles were another story. The skin was peeled back and two large bone fragments petered out from his hand. The way the skin peeled made it look like the spikes weren't supposed to be there.

She stared at them in awe and Knuckles looked up at her intrigued face.

"What?"

"Your hands…"

"I was born with them. Some kind of mutation" re replied, looking in another direction still very uncomfortable knowing that Rouge was naked.

Rouge wanted to see Knuckles flustered and knew that this was the opportune time to do so. She slowly inched her way over towards him. Knuckles, having an impressive amount of sagacity, noticed her when she was a few inches from his body. She learned up against him and smirked a seductive smile, running her finger along his guardian mark.

Knuckles was beet red. He felt like his member was going to explode.

Rouge giggled.

"I've never seen you so flustered Knuxie" she chuckled.

"D-don't call me that" he replied, turning his face away from her.

She slowly moved her hand to the side of his cheek and whispered in his ear.

"Don't be like that baby."

She quickly brought his face to meld with her own, kissing him passionately, running her fingers all over his muscular figure.

"Ahh-ahh…"

Now she lost all her moderation and pressed her naked body up against his and deepened the kiss, pushing him underwater, never wanting it to stop.

…..

"You're out of control Shadow."

The ebon hedgehog started into Tails eyes emitting a horrible loathing. Even Charmy could sense the gravity in the air.

"I'm out of control?"

"Yes, you are" replied tails, a tone of acrimony in his still developing voice.

Shadow stood while Tails remained sitting, creating an intimidating appearance before the boy.

"If I'm so out of control, how come we have an unfilial child ordering us around? Oh wait I'm sorry, how could he act as such if he has no parents to make him the son of?!" he spat, ridiculing Tails orphan situation.

Sonics face molded itself into one of shear anger as tears welded up within Tails eyes.

"Take that back-you fucking take that back!" screamed Sonic, rage awoken by Shadows horrible words.

"See?! Who's really out of control?! Look at Sonic, flipping out because I made fun of-"

"You are! You savage-"

"And what about Rouge and Knuckles? She's off bathing, trying to look pretty while she should be hunting! Knuckles strikes me and then runs off. Are you really in control, little boy?"

Tails was unresponsive, in a state of shock.

"Hunting! Hunting! That's all you care about!"

"Sonic, Shadow, please!" pleaded Amy, horrified to see the two hedgehogs arguing. She had experienced a brief amount of feelings towards Shadow after she connected with him at the ark, but those feelings were nothing more than smoldering ashes now that she saw Shadows true nature.

"Quiet little girl! All your good for is loosing helicopters."

Sonic snapped. It was one thing to insult his friends, another to insult Amy. He charged at Shadow, blinded by fury. He was halted just before he was able to strike Shadow by vector and Espio who grappled him to the ground.

"Get off of me! I'll kill him!" sputtered Sonic, his face smeared with dirt and grime.

"See, he's the savage one, trying to kill me for making a point."

"Yeah Sonic, what's your problem?" questioned Vector.

"MY problem? He just-don't you see?!"

"I don't need to deal with this side of the island. I don't need to deal with Sonic the hedgehog OR Knuckles the echidna. I'm going to the other side of the island to hunt and survive on my own. Anyone who wants to join MY tribe is free to do so!" he declared, turning his back to the group as he began to walk into the jungle.

"What about Rouge, you best friend? Are you gonna leave her here with us savages?!" ridiculed Sonic.

Shadow paused. Sonic was sure that he had finally pushed the right emotional button.

Shadow turned around, grinning.

"Wha-"

"Might as well."

With that final closing statement, Shadow the hedgehog departed from the group, laughing at their impudence.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

AN: sorry, that was a bit short. Ok, so shadow departs, will more join him? In case you haven't noticed, he's taken on the personification of jack. And what of Knuckles and Rouge? Review and I'll tell you with another chapter.


	8. flashback

Secluded

8

Disclaimer: I don't own themmmmm….

I don't own the song at the bottom ether.

"Why?"

"Why is everyone dead?"

"Why?"

"Why did you kill them?"

Rouge snapped awake. Her clothes laid sprawled beneath and around her, laid to cover her privates. She looked around for Knuckles but did not see his body of matted red fur. Yet another dream that had her awaken in that horrible cold sweat. The sweet, innocent sound of chimes echoed during the whole experience. An island on flames, one lone figure crawling towards the ocean, dying…

No matter how hard she tried to remember, she could not name the killer or the dying person at the beach, but the horrible " ding ding ding ding ding ding dingdingding" of the chimes remained in her head, repeating over and over in a childish way, as if death was a good thing.

Not wanting to be seen in the nude, except maybe if by the eyes of Knuckles, she donned her clothing (What was left of it) and sent out to find him. Near the end of the oasis, Knuckles voice met her hears with a cheerful: "hey".

She looked up to see Knuckles perched on the limb of one of the trees, munching away at some sort of fruit, smiling down at her.

She beamed at him and flew up to join him; the happy memories of the previous night clouded the dark reminiscence of the nightmare.

She leaned up against his red body and planted a kiss on his dry lips (oooh rhymes).

"Knuckles as soon as we get off this damn island I'm going to buy you some chap stick" she said, smirking at her boyfriend.

Knuckles took another bite of the fruit.

"Ha ha. Don't even bother; my lips are only dry because I haven't had much to drink."

"Then get something to drink."

"No, I'm not thirsty."

"Just do it."

"Don't mother me!" he said, partially laughing.

They rested their heads on each other as a long silence passed. Their new partnership had relived each of them a great deal of stress and they felt almost relaxed on the peaceful island. The only sounds to be heard were the rustling of the tree levees and the jungle wildlife moving about the ground and canopy.

"Hey Knuckles" asked Rouge suddenly, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Do you have any parents?"

A mortified look came about Knuckles bitten face as he turned his head in shame away from Rouge.

"I had…a mother…"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"And a thing I guess I'm supposed to call "Father" he finished, whipping his head back to face Rouge with a face filled with so much hate and loathing, it made her heart skip beats.

……..

"Espio and Vector are gone?!" exclaimed Sonic, spit flying from his gaping mouth.

"Like dust in the wind. They told me that they were going to go join Shadow's tribe because they 'agreed with his way of thinking', or something stupid like that" snarled a frustrated and stressed Tails.

His eyes had gained a more sunken look to them and his tails dragged on the ground like lifeless dolls. Hair had began to fall from his normally furry body and his almost instinctive childish aura and almost faded away to nothing.

'Damn it!" yelled Sonic, slamming his fist into a nearby tree. Amy looked on at her two friends to the point she became as almost as weak and depressed as they had.

"Were the Hell are Knuckles and Rouge anyway?" yelled Sonic, flailing his arms in the air like a madman.

Tails took a deep sigh.

"I honestly don't know. I don't know what to think about anyone anymore. We're running out of fruit on this end of the island and Shadow was the only one who could efficiently hunt. I should have never allowed conflict to rear its ugly head. This is all my fault and we're gonna die damn it…"

"D-don't say that Tails!" exclaimed Amy. "So Shadow, Vector, and Espio are gone, it doesn't mean we can't get them to come back. And none of this was your fault, it was bound to happen."

"Than what do you suppose we do then?"

"Well, mabey…"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe…maybe we should join Shadow's tribe!"

Sonic slapped Amy with his tattered gloved hand.

She stumbled to the dusty ground, shredding the lower proportions of her dress on a pile of flint. She lifted her head and her eyes began to tear as she stared into Sonics infuriated face.

"Don't give in to him! You know what he's capable of, he'd kill us all in our sleep!"  
"Sonic…" Amy whimpered, standing to look him in the face.

Sonic met her gaze and stared for a good ten seconds.

"G-God damn it Amy! Damn it all to Hell!" spat Sonic, punching himself in the leg and leaving a hideous bruise.

Tails watched Sonic breakdown in front of him, knowing he could do nothing. He fiddled with his broken finger and waited for Sonic or perhaps Amy to off themselves right on the spot. He expected nothing less from the deteriorating minds of his friends.

………….

The situation could have been better, had Rouge not asked Knuckles that question, at least two members of their remaining troupe would have remained hopeful, but the question had triggered a long forgotten memory from Knuckles past.

"Knuckles?" asked Rouge, noticing his wavering figure grow to the point of chills.

"Yes my father, I've even managed to forget his name, but I'll never forget his face and what he did to me."

"W-what? What did he do?" asked Rouge, rather intrigued to learn about this man Knuckles claimed to hate with such a passion.

Knuckles picked up a twig from the ground and began to fool with it via his fingers (he never put his gloves back on).

"I don't remember much; I've done the best to block it out of my memory."

"So what happened?"

"I-I can't remember every detail. I was only about 2 or 3. It's really stressful to talk about, but…"

He turned his head, the redness of his face dissipating, and looked at Rouge while running his ungloved hand through her matted white hair.

"…I feel like I can tell you."

They smiled at each other for a bit before Knuckles continued with his story.

"It started at night. I was sleeping peacefully when I heard a scream. I woke up and looked for my mother to tell her about it."

He took a sigh.

"I found her; and my father with her blood on his hands."

Rouge gasped and covered her mouth as Knuckles continued through clenched teeth.

"I remember crying, and then I blacked out. It's all very fuzzy but I woke up on my father bed…"

Another pause.

"Being…Raped"

…….

"We're happy we decided to join your tribe Shadow."

"Yeah. I was getting sick of those friggin' bananas."

Shadow stood with his back facing a large tree. His leg had apparently healed since the crash (most likely due to his superhuman body) and the horrible stench of malice began to envelop his body the same way it had when the group first met him.

"I don't care about that. I don't care about them anymore. I just need to survive. "That little fox and his pals won't have much willpower for much longer…" he murmured through a twisted smile.

"W-what about Rouge, 'aint she your best friend?" asked Vector.

"She'll do what she can to survive. She's plenty capable, I know."

"If she's so good at surviving, why don't we have her join our tribe?"

The black menace chuckled to himself lightly.

"She will come to me in due time. If not…"

Shadow picked up his flint knife, still covered with the dried blood of the dead pig he had hunted earlier.

"…We'll kill her too."

…………………………………………………………

Korn

"Daddy"

Mother please forgive me  
I just had to get out all my pain and suffering  
Now that I am done, remember I will always love you  
I'm your son

Little child, looking so pretty  
Come out and play, I'll be your daddy  
Innocent child, looking so sweet  
A rape in my eyes and on your flesh I'll eat

You've raped!  
I feel dirty  
It hurt!  
As a child  
Tied down!  
That's a good boy  
And fucked!  
Your own child  
I scream!  
No one hears me  
It hurt!  
I'm not a liar  
My God!  
Saw you watching  
Mommy why?!  
Your own child

It's alright

I didn't touch you there  
Mama said she didn't care  
I didn't touch you there  
That's why mama stopped and stared

I fucking hate you! Mother fucker!  
Mother Fucker! I fucking hate you! Fuck You!  
You son of a bitch, you fucking ruined my life!  
I wanted to die!  
I'm sick of it, mother fucker . . . oh oh  
Why'd you fuck'n do it to me?  
I Hate You!  
I Fuck'n Hate You!  
I Hate You!  
Why?!  
I Hate You!

……………………………………………

A/N: I'm probably going to change the rating to "M", due to the increasing amout of…things.

The song above is there due to Knuckles story (will be continued in chap 9)

That song scares me too and can make anyone cry. I rarly listen to it but it worked pretty well to make this fic more emotional.

Sorry it took so long to get out. Its been Christmas and all so

yeah


	9. curtain

Secluded

9

Title 

It's strange how a good and blissfully happy situation can turn horrible in a matter of seconds. One could be enjoying a day in the park, and a horrible calamity could occur, killing many. All it takes is a second, but for that second to happen; it needs steps before it too occur, each taking their own second out of time. Unless you write about it, you never take these notes of cause and effect into consideration because you are preoccupied with the situation at hand. No doubt this is what Rouge felt after listening to Knuckles story. Only horrible reflections such as one on the account of rape at the hands of ones own father could change such a happy mood into such a horribly depressing one. Knuckles wasn't even sure why he had brought it up, for he was sure that it would kill the moment. Maybe it was to show Rouge that he trusted her deeply, and even with memories he tried to hide even from himself (which explained why he couldn't remember anything quite as clear as he should have been able to). Rouge had asked about his parents, so he told her. Maybe he should have just said "I don't remember my parents". Than again, lying to someone you love is never good, nor is lying in itself.

Despite these malefactors, he had told her, and there was no changing that. The feeling of someone other than himself knowing about the fate of his parents began to hit him, and he began to regret his decision about telling Rouge.

"Rouge I-"

Rouge placed her index finger on his mouth, silencing him.

"No Knuckles; I'm glad you told me. I'm guessing you never told anyone that before."

He slowly moved her hand from his face and replied,

"No, I haven't." 

Rouge wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body against his, holding him in a tight embrace.

"I'm glad you told me, it shoes that you can trust me with anything, even something you keep from yourself."

Her voice wasn't her normal one, but a soft, sincere one that soothed the stress Knuckles had created for himself. Her eyes glistened with the reflection of the sun and made her look more beautiful than she already was. Almost like a goddess of understanding.

Knuckles said nothing and rested his head against hers, returning the embrace.

……….

Back at the campsite, situations weren't taking a direct turn for the better, but more of a turn for the worst. Tails suspicions of the hedgehogs growing thoughts of suicide were becoming confirmed. Sonic was sitting in a patch of creepers near some large trees, fiddling with something he couldn't see through the grassy shrubs. Amy remained in the spot she fell after Sonic had slapped her, holding the spot she was hit. It looked as if the idea of Sonic hitting her for a seemingly innocent suggestion hadn't exactly sank in to her brain, as if it had to enter an unseen filter fort her to be able to process the information, and then react to it. Tails secretly hoped she would remain like that for a good while, for he feared she might to something irrational, such as cut herself with one of the flint flakes that littered the ground. 

It was ironic how the flint symbolized that thin border between life and death. At the beginning of their "adventure", they had been used for survival, as knives for cutting food and branches. Now they could be used for something more sinister, such as cutting something other than food.

"It's not like we can cut meat…without Shadow, he have none."

Tails mentally slapped himself for thinking a thought that could lead to him joining Shadows tribe, or possibly suicide. He found it funny that someone like himself, who lived in the realm of technology, could find fear in the simplest of tools. He wanted to laugh at even this, but it seemed like the function to do so had left his body and was floating around in space, a place he couldn't possibly reach while on the island.

While pondering these anomalies, Amy seemed to snap back into reality. Her upper lip quivered as she began to look at herself. She couldn't believe how horribly messy she had become. It was hard to believe that she was ever clean. Rolling around in her own bile would be cleaner. 

Then she remembered Sonic. That bastard. All she does is make a suggestion, and BAM, she's on the ground. Pathetic. Simply pathetic.

"That's you", she said aloud.

"Huh?" Tails weakly replied, his voice cracking.

"Me, pathetic. Yes that's right. Of course, of course, how could I be so blind? I've been living in this shell for so long, I forgot all about it" she mumbled.

"Amy? Are you okay?" asked Tails. He'd never seen Amy so out of character, and it scared him.

"Is that what he wants?" she continued, "Fine; I'll give it to him. I'll shove it in his face and he'll never forget. That's it. That's exactly it."

She shakily reached for a shard of the razor stone and stood up, a condensation of sweat forming on her brow.

"Amy?" called Tails again, with no answer.

Amy approached Sonic, who took no note of her. With a glazed expression, she slowly raised the shard, preparing to lodge it in her idols head.

"AMY, STOP!" shouted Tails, as he rushed towards her. He was bent on seeing every one of this island, alive and intact.

He grabbed hold of the makeshift knife, but underestimated it's potential for destruction. The blade easily slid through his unprotected hand, spewing blood in every which direction. 

"Grrghghghhhh…" he sputtered.

The blade had totally passed through his had as if it weren't even there in the first place.

"Ah-aaaaaarrrghhhh!" he bellowed, buckling backwards in shearing pain.

Amy seemed to return once again, but back to her old self.

"Oh my-Tails!"

"Ahh-ah-gahhh-hahhhh!" He whined, rolling around in a puddle of blood and dirt.

Amy quickly tore off a part of what was left of her skirt and grabbed Tails mangled hand. She quickly wrapped it around the wound, knotting it tightly. She then removed one of her gloves and tied it around his arm even tighter, creating a makeshift tourniquet.

"Sonic, h-help me!"

No response.

"Sonic?"

She turned to see him lying face down in the dirt, unresponsive.

"N-no-"

…….

"We should probably head back now."

Rouge looked at her lover and nodded in agreement. They had been at the oasis for a good two days and thought it was a good idea to go back. It's interesting how spending such little time with another person can make you realize how much you love them. Rouge's interest in Knuckles was no longer a meager crush, but a burning inferno of affection and love.

"Yeah, they're probably wondering where we are" she replied, dusting herself off.

Knuckles remained silent for a second and then said:

"But it's strange; we've been here for almost two days and they haven't sent out a search party for us. Don't you think they would be the least bit concerned?"

"Maybe they're to busy with Shadow leaving the group. They know that you live in the wilderness 24/7, so it's safe to assume that you'd be ok."

"Yeah but what about you? They don't know that you're with me."

Knuckles concerns made cense. There was no way of knowing that the two would be at the oasis together, even stranger that they didn't look for Knuckles, the one of the two they were closest to. One could argue that they had been looking for them, but couldn't find them, but with a supersonic hedgehog to search, it's likely they would have been found.

As Knuckles pondered this, he became more concerned.

"We have to go."

"Knuckles-"

"C'mon Rouge, I think something is seriously wrong" he yelled as he darted onto the pathway back to the campsite.

Rouge sighed and then proceeded to follow him.

………..

Note: wow, it's been a while since I updated, sorry for the wait. I plan to finish the story in the next chapter, so that's why this is so short, and I just want to post it.

The more reviews I get, the faster I'll post the next and possibly final chapter; so review! 


	10. the throne of shadow

Secluded

Secluded

10

The Throne of Shadow

Trudging through the woods in a hurry when you don't want to be there is never a pleasant experience. Branches whip at your face, unnoticed thorns cut or prick you, and seemingly insignificant rooms can trip you up, masking the journey far less pleasant. This "unpleasantness" was practically magnified for Knuckles as he did this, because the knowledge of what was happening was wearing him down, and his girlfriend wouldn't stop pestering him.

"Knuckles, would you just tell me what's going on?! Why do we have to go back?" she asked while being practically dragged along the floor of the jungle by Knuckles, his hand tightly wrapped around her own.

"Because, there's no way someone wouldn't have come looking for us by now, we have to go back to the campsite. Something may be seriously wrong."

"What? What's wrong?"

A pause.

"I'm not sure…"

…….

"Sonic?!"

"What the hell's going on?!"

As soon as the pair arrived at the campsite, they were met with a wall of flames. Being engulfed by these flames was the body of Sonic.

"Damn!" yelled Knuckles as he raced towards the inferno, bent on retriving the body of Sonic, dead or alive.

"Knuckles wait!" yelled rouge, horribly afraid of seeing knuckles become charcoal.

Too late. The last she saw of him was his red body disappearing into the flames as he charged towards his unresponsive friend.

FWOOOM. That was the sound that was made when his body was engulfed. Rouge was determined to follow, but the extreme heat of the flames prevented her from going any further. Flames, leaping and dancing, engulfing the campsite and possibly the one she loved was no easy sight to bear. Sickening pops and cracks echoed in her large ears as small bits of flame jumped out and landed on her tender, soft skin, causing minor burns. Rouge, however, could care less, for her mind was only focused on Knuckles.

At least a minute went by with no sign of her lover. She fell to her knees and tears began to cascade down her face, leaving trains of unmarred, clean skin in their path. She muttered something in a drunken blubber and planted her forearms in the dirt, grabbing handfuls of the ground, causing dirt and who knows what to sink under her fingernails. She cursed just about everything she could think of, until she reached the name "Shadow".

"Shadow…" she thought. He was the one who probably started this fire.

As she reached this realization, the fire exploded with crimson and blue. Knuckles, with the motionless form of Sonic draped over his shoulders in a fireman's carry, emerged from the inferno, and burned with blackened skin, coughing because of the noxious fumes.

Rouge's thoughts of loss and hatred disbanded for a minute as she embraced the charred Knuckles, screaming his name with relief and joy.

"Stupid batgirl, you thought I wouldn't make it out of there? I've been through worse."

"Shut up Knucklehead, don't ever do something so reckless again, or I'll kill you." She replied smiling, tears from before still cleaning her dirtied face.

Knuckles smiled at rouge and then placed Sonics motionless body on the ground, intent ion saving his life, if he still possessed it. As soon as the pair got a good look at him, it was obvious what caused him to enter near death. Sonic was thin. Very thin. His stomach had receded a good 7 inches, causing the skin to flop beside him. You could easily count his ribs, and see facial features and bones that were not visible before.

"Sonic…you dumbass" mumbled Knuckles in a concerned manor.

"He needs food, and a lot of it. Do we have any?" asked Rouge.

"I'm not sure, but- hey, where are Tails and Amy? Weren't they here with Sonic too?"

"I'm pretty sure that I know what happened to them" declared Rouge.

Knuckle turned to her.

"Shadow."

……..

On the other side of the island, an elevated portion exists not to far from the valley that was untenured by the group previously. The cascading tides had carved out almost a cave of smooth granite. If one wanted too, it would provide an ideal shelter for sleeping, or concealment, or in this case, a base for execution.

"What happened to tails hand, I wonder?" asked Espio, running his hands along the stone used by Amy to assault Tails.

"Shut up you sick freak! He's hurt! Instead of asking what happened to him, you should help him! And what about Sonic? You left him in that inferno to die, you bastards!" yelled Amy. In the corner of this cave, she was bound with her hands behind her back by a think grapevine.

"Quiet" commanded vector as he pushed her onto the ground with the sole of his shoe.

"ugh…" mumbled Amy, as her teeth made contact with the granite, chipping one of them and causing her gums to bleed furiously.

At the feet of Espio lay Tails, barely conscious and clutching his destroyed hand.

"No need" came a voice from the back of the cave.

Amy turned to see Shadow sitting on a makeshift throne composed of logs and stone (probably gathered from the cave, the wood driftwood). He was slumped to one side, resting his head on the top of his hand, king entertained by the agony of his peers.

"I like seeing him squirm."

"Shadow! Shadow what happened to you? What happened to that dark, yet peaceful hedgehog that-"

"Quiet."

That shut Amy up. Shadow didn't even have to raise his voice, yet his very presence and malicious tone flooded Amy with a fear that made her cease any sound.

"I have no desire to continue playing with any of you. This has changed me for the better. It made me realize how I can be a monarch among the powerless" said Shadow, in the same tone that quieted Amy.

"What?"

"You see, I plan to accomplish something I never could before. You see these two?" he said, motioning to Espio and Vector, "they listen to me, they do not question me. I like that; but I want more. That's why I am going to get rid of you and tails, so you won't stop me. When help does arrive, I plan to put my plan for domination into action. Sonic would have had you help him stop me, but he took care of that ordeal himself. All I have to do is get rid of you, and I'm in the clear."

"You sick…"

"Sick? Who's sick? Haven't you ever desired power? I know I have. I have the power to obtain it, but you people have hindered me for too long. All I have to do is get rid of you…you and Knuckles and Rouge."

Amy stared at him as if he had slapped her.

"Rouge? You plan to kill Rouge?! Your best friend? The one who is always by your side? The one-"

Shadows face suddenly contorted into sheer rage.

"Shut up cunt!! I HATE it when people oppose me in that manor! Learn your place worm!"

Amy was stunned. Not only was Shadow using far more explicit words than normal, he was bent on killing the one who cared about him the most.

She was ready to offer a rebuttal, but feared shadow would snap again, and have her or tails hurt more.

"Fuck. Now I'm in a bad mood. I remember when this girl used to make me feel like something, but now she's just a form of opposition. Vector…"

"Yes?"

"…Just kill her."

Amy's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes sir."

'Am I going to die?' she thought as vector approached her, with his eyes glazed over in a mindless manor.

'I'm going to die! I'm going to die!'

WHAM

Vector flew across the cavern and smacked his head against the wall of the cave, knocking him out. Knuckles stood in the spot that Victor had one, and it was clear that he had punched him with a great deal of force.

"Damn, I was right…" muttered Knuckles to himself.

"Knuckles!"

"Knuckles…" growled Shadow.

"Knuckles, where is Sonic?" asked Amy, her tone desperate. No doubt she was eager to know the whereabouts of the one she felt such strong affection for, despite her crazed attempt to kill him.

As if on cue, Rouge trudged into the room with Sonic slumped over her shoulder. Something was dribbling from his half-open mouth, so one could assume it was lasting affects of rouges attempt to force feed him. He seemed to slip in an out of consciousness, but was aware enough to mutter a: "Amy?"

Amy breathed a sigh of relief, but this was short lived. Espio began to approach Rouge, intent on disabling her ands Sonic further, just to please his "master".

"Espio, stop!" commanded the booming voice of Shadow, who still had not moved an inch from his throne, as if he was amused by the chaos unfolding in the cave.

He then turned his attention to Rouge and began to speak.

"Rouge, if you haven't guessed, I'm disbanding from our group. I seek greater heights. This "survival situation" has made me realize my potential to rule, and-"

"Shadow, shut up."

Shadow's eyes widened in response to Rouge's comment.

"What did you…?"

"Shadow…I can't believe you would do something like this. You were my best friend. I let you stay at my house; I shared my problems with you, I even told you about my crush on Knuckles, but now this? I…can't believe it to be true…Shadow…"

Rouge looked sincerely saddened by shadows violent reformation. She couldn't seem to exactly grasp the concept of having her best friend become some kind of Charles Manson and try to bring about horrible things. Through all that they've been through, he still wants to remain evil.

There was a pause. All that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the fading sonic, and the beads of sweat dropping to the smooth, granite floor.

Shadow final broke the silence.

"Rouge, you're absolutely right. You are my best friend. You were the only one I was considering to spare out of this pathetic bunch; but now I see you're just like them…soft, unopened to suggestion. Not able to grasp what someone can accomplish. Don't you see? I've been awakened and reborn. Reborn someone who is willing to change humanity for the better, and rule it with an iron fist!" he shouted, finally rising from his makeshift throne.

"Now…I want the pleasure of killing you myself!"

"Wha-?"

"All the time you were "caring" for me, you talked to me about your problems. One of those problems was your relationship with Knuckles. I HATED hearing about that! Day after day…it made me almost dislike you. Now I really have a good reason to hurt you."

"Shut up fool!" yelled Knuckles, not wanting to hear foul words said about the woman he loved.

"Fool? Hah! Who's the real fool Knuckles?! Not me! You! You, you lumbering buffoon!"

"What?!"

"Argh!" yelled Shadow, as he reared backwards and clutched his forehead with both hands. You! You drive me insane! Dead! I want you dead!"

"You've lost it!"

"Have I? Have I, Knuckles the echidna?"

"Yes, you and Espio. Not one of you is sound in the mind."

While Knuckles and Shadow continued their verbal battle, Sonic motioned towards Rouge.

"What is it Sonic?"

"Th-there…" he mumbled, pointing in a crevice above the throne of Shadow.

He began to whisper something that only rouge would be able to hear, and then slipped off.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Knuckles continued to argue, until Knuckles temper soared above a controllable rate. He punched Shadows with all of his might and sent him tumbling backwards until he stopped himself with his forearm.

"So that is how it has to be, huh?" he said, wiping blood from his face with the back of his hand.

They began to duke it out, punches and kicks were received on both ends, over and over. Small drops of blood began to rain onto the floor, making the fight look all the more horrible. Eventually, Shadow gained the upper hand. He bent low and sent a well placed palm thrust into Knuckles face, breaking his elongated nose.

'AAArrgh!" he yelled in agony, clutching his face.

"Hahahahaha! See? No one can oppose me1 had I had an emerald, you would be dead for sure!" laughed Shadow.

Knuckles was about to get back up and continue the brawl, but out of the corner of his eye he caught something that shocked him.

"Sonic…" he mumbled, blood pouring from his face, 'I didn't think you'd actually do it…"

"What's that? What did you..?"

Shadow never got to finish his sentence; for his was cut short by a boulder that came tumbling down from the crevice Sonic had spotted earlier. A crevice that he climbed up to and pushed the boulder from, causing hit to land on Shadows legs.

A sickening crack echoed throughout the cavern and Shadows screams enveloped them all.

"ARRGHHHH!"

Rouge's expression when from concerned to shocked in a nanosecond. Sonic fell from the crevice, exhausted, before he was able to crash onto the floor, Amy rushed over and placed herself under him, so he landed safely on top of her.

"oof!" she grunted as her worn out body bared the weight of Sonics body.

On the other side of the room, Knuckles chuckled to himself, somehow able to block out Shadows screams and focus on the scene that unfolded in front of him.

'Heheh…Amy…looks like you got to finally pay Sonic back for tall the times he saved you…stupid…hedge…"

Knuckles never completed his thought, for he was suddenly enveloped in a white light, and lost consciousness.

……

Knuckles awoke in a white room, surrounded by nurses and his peers. Sunlight poured into an open window, spreading it's warms across his aching body. He was confused and disorientated, and for a minute assumed he was in heaven. He later realized the nurses wandering the room, monitoring the others conditions, and knew he was at a hospital. He turned to his left and saw Rouge's sleeping form next to him, on a bed, wrapped in sheets identical to his own. He smiled and realized that somehow, they had been saved. In that last moment of terror and agony, something had whisked him away to a place where he could recuperate and escape the nightmare that was the island.

Beside him was the sleeping form of Sonic, who was being comforted by Amy. It seems any anger shared by the two of them had disbanded, and their attraction towards each other was awakened; awakened like they all had from that horrible nightmare.

Tails was beside Sonic, flipping through TV channels with his undamaged had, and laying the injured one on his stomach.

"Amy?" Knuckles grumbled.

"Knuckles, good you're awake."

"How's Sonic?"

"Hmmm, better than before. He was deprived of water son long, he could have died. But he seems better now, now he's just tiered.

It seemed that Amy suffered no real physical damage from the incident, only mental, but if she was well enough to care for Sonic, there was no real reason to be that concerned.

"Knuckles, you're awake!" exclaimed tails once he noticed his red friend.

"Sup Tails" mumbled Knuckles.

"I'm glad you're up Knuckles, but you should have seen it. Rouge was at your bedside the entire time you were out. She was really concerned, she wouldn't let go of you when the helicopter came to get us."

"Yeah, looks like your rivalry is over" said Amy, beaming.

Knuckles chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. And…, hey, what happened to Shadow?"

Amy paused, and then began to speak.

"Shadow's healing his legs. They say he should recover much quicker than any of us, because of who he is, but as for his insanity, that will take a long time to mend itself."

Knuckles looked down at his hands and replied:

"Yeah…guess you're right…"

……..

Back on the island, the remains of the first helicopter crash were being gathered by its inhabitants. They were botanists, studying the plant life on the islands trench when the helicopter tumbled over the edge of the cliff.

"If they had only come down here, they could have been rescued sooner" one said to the other.

The other botanist paused and then replied:

"People fear the unknown."


End file.
